Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The castle of the Guignardière was built around 1555 in Avrillé for Jean Girard, lord of Bazoges and panetier of the king. Its architecture, designed by an anonymous architect, breaks with Renaissance codes to announce classicism. The castle was inaugurated in 1560 at the wedding of Antoinette Girard with Baudouin de Goulaine, but its owner was murdered three years later, interrupting the works. The dispersed artisans then influence regional constructions for decades.

The estate passes to Marguerite Girard, close to Jeanne d'Albret, then to the Poussard family. In the 18th century, Count Sylvestre du Chaffault, a royalist, modernized the castle (ionic window dated 1773) before being forced into exile during the Revolution. His property was looted and his children shot. The castle was bought in 1814 by Parfait-Victor Luce, whose family transformed him: Clementine Luce, wife of Juchereau de Saint-Denis, introduced an English park and exotic species.

In the 19th century, Henri Luce de Trémont moved the central pole without completing the works. The estate, transmitted by alliance to the Fouquets, was classified as a historical monument in 1978 for its facades, roofs, staircases and fireplaces. Since the 2010s, it has been home to Le Château des Adventurers, a leisure park offering thematic puzzles (pirates, prehistory, etc.) and guided tours of the monument, opened from April to November.

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